Locking means for studio couches



July 28, 1942. A KRAKAUER 2,29'1Q392 LOCKING MEANS FOR STUDIO COUCHESFiled Sept. 2'7, 1939 INVENTOR bgglam ralfauer A RNEY Patented July 28,1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Kay Manufacturing Corporation,

Brooklyn,

N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 27, 1939, SerialNo. 296,801

6 Claims.

This invention relates to studio couches in which there is a fixedsection and a self-raising section movable into and out of a spaceprovided therefor in the xed section and relates particularly to themeans for locking the movable section in its raised operative position.

The movable self-raising section of such couches is so made that afterit is iirst moved out of the fixed section, the mattress-carrying framethereof may rise to the same level as the corresponding frame of thefixed section, suitable springs being provided to perform the raisingoperation either by themselves or with some slight assistance by theuser. The mattresscarrying frame of the movable section may also belowered into a collapsed position under little more force than its ownweight and against the action of said springs, preparatory to shiftingsaid section bodily in a horizontal direction into its storage space inthe fixed section and out of the way.

Dimculties have been experienced with couches of this type. Should theframe rise under the action of its springs while the movable section isinside of the nxed section, as for example during transit, or if shocksor jars partly or completely overcome the weight of theYmattress-carrying frame, it becomes diicult, if not impossible, toslide the otherwise movable section into its operative position becauseof the jamming of its mattress-carrying frame against the top of thereceiving space in the xed section.

Attempts have therefore been made to provide locking means to maintainthe mattress-carrying frame of the movable section releasably in itsraised and collapsed positions. The mechanism heretofore provided forthat purpose is, however, cumbersome, bulky, comparatively expensive,and more or less difficult for unskilled persons to operate.

My invention therefore contemplates the provision of simple,comparatively inexpensive and dependable locking means having few partsand which is easily and quickly released by unskilled persons when themovable section is to be raised or lowered, said locking means beingeffective to lock the section either in its raised position or in itslowered or collapsed position, as desired.

The various objects of the invention will be clear from the descriptionwhich follows and from the drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of the movable section of a studiocouch showing my invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same showing the locking detent fornormally preventing release of the locking means.

Fig. 3 is a similar View of a somewhat modified form of the invention inwhich the locking detent is omitted, and in which the Weight of thelocking member and the friction developed thereby is depended on to`lockthe section in its collapsed position.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section on an enlarged scale of thereleasable locking means showing the operating parts.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary end elevation of the same.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front elevation of the upper front portion ofthe movable section and of the locking means, showing the locking detenton an enlarged scale.

In the practical embodiment of the invention which I have shown by wayof example, the mattress-carrying frame I0 of the movable section isconstructed of angle iron in the usual manner and is provided with theresilient mattress support II of any of the usual types. It 'will beunderstood that while in Fig. 1 only an end portion of the frame I0 isshown, said frame continues for the desired length and terminates at itsother end in a structure identical with the structure at the end shownin Figs. 1 and 2. The description of one end of the section willtherefore suice for both ends.

It will also be understood that the movable section is suitablyconnected to a fixed section of the usual type, not necessary to beshown, so that the frame It] of the movable section may first. belowered into the position shown in Fig. 3 and then moved inside of andinto a storage space in the fixed section to be hidden thereby. Theusual crossed legs I2 and I3 pivoted together intermediate their ends asat I4 are provided to collapsibly support the frame I0. Said legsterminate in suitable rollers or casters I5 and at their lower ends areconnected by the tension spring I6 which serves to pull the lower endsof the legs toward each other and thereby to raise the frame I0 againstthe weight of the frame and of the mattress thereon. The leg I2 ispivoted at its upper end as at Il to the end rail of the frame I0 whilethe leg I3 is provided with a pin I8 at its upper end slidable in theslot I9 of the end rail.

The construction thus far described is the usual construction to whichmy improved locking means has been applied. Said locking means comprisesthe U-shaped pin locking and release bar 20 having an elongated frontportion 2| extending along and preferably in front of the front rail ofthe frame III and having a rearwardly extending side arm as 22 at eachend of the front portion. The side arm 22 is shorter than the end railand at its rear end is'loosely pivoted to the end rail as by means ofthe pivot 23. Said side arm 22, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5, isprovided with a slot 24 substantially coextensive with the slot I9 andreceiving the pin I8 which is long enough to pass through both of theslots I9 and 24. The slot 24 is preferably provided with an upright slotextension at the respective ends thereof and at substantially rightangles to the main slot 24, said extensions being respectively numbered25 and 26. lSaid slot 'eX- tensions 25 and 2S serve to maintain and lockthe pin I8 in either one of the extreme positions thereof in the slot,said positions corresponding to the extreme raised position of the framevII) and its extreme collapsed position.

Said pin, as shown in Fig-2, passes through the slot I9 of the frame andis-automatieally lockedat the upper end of the slot extension 26 whenthe frame Ii! is in its extreme raised position. Normally, part of theweight of the bar 2Q restson said pin since the bar tends to drop aboutits pivot 23. The pressure-cn the pin due to the weight of the barnormally resists undesired movement of the pin in the slots, exceptduring the deliberate raising Yor collapse of the frame I I). In theeXtreme positions of the frame, the bar 2U is free to drop and does dropwhereby the pin I8 enters the slot extension 25 or 25 to lock the partsagainst movement until the bar `"Ilis deliberately raised to free'thepin.

When it is desired to intentionally collapse the section from theposition of Fig. 2 into'that oi Fig. 3 for movement for example intotheiixed couch section, the front part 2I of the bar 20 Yis raisedsuilioiently to move the pin out of the extension 2S and in the long ormain part ofthe Y slot 24, whereafter the Weight'of'the frame IIJ andits mattress assisted, if necessary, Vby a slight downward pressurethereon by the user, causes said pinto move along the main partrof saidslot 24 and causes the legs to swing about their pivots I 4 to collapsethe cou-oh section.

In said eXtreme collapsed position, the pin I8 reaches the slotextension 25 and the bar 2i! drops, th-e pin moving into the top of theextension 25 and being locked in said extension against movement untiland unless th-e bar is raised to release it. Consequently, the danger ofthe frame Ibeing raised by the springs I5 after it has been collapsedand moved into the fixed couch section is avoided and possibility ofjamming of thesections together during transit or when jai-red iseliminated.

As shown in Fig. 3, should the` weights of the frame Ill and itsmattress be suicient under all conditions to overcome'the action of thespringsv I6 so that the section is completely self-maintained in itscollapsed position, the extension at the front end of theslot 2li-may beomitted. For concealing the couch section in its collapsed position inits storage space inthe iixedseotion,V

a front panel as 27 of the usual type maybe secured to the legY I2 as bymeans of asuitable bracket 28. q

YTo insure against accidental releasing movement of the bar 2Q while aperson is lying on the couch section, as-when the bar is accidentallyraised, and to insure against the vconsequent ac- Y cidental collapse ofsaid sectionfa-suitablemanually releasable locking detent isprovidednormally preventing operation of said barV 23, but permittingrelease of said bar for operation when desired. As shown particularly inFigs. 2 and 6, said detent consists of a at substantially rectangularmember 30 preferably of strip stock and loosely pivoted to the frontrail 3l of the lrame at a point as 32 offset from or on one side of thelongitudinal center line of said member. By suspending the member 30from a point oifset from its center line, said member tends to hangunder the inuence of gravity in an inclined position to the vertical.The pin 33 projects from the member 30 and enters the slot 34 of thefront part 2l of the bar 20. The left end of said slot,

va'svievved` in Fig. V6, is sufciently offset to the left of the-pivot32to normally arrange the pin 33 olf or to the left of a dead centerposition vertically below the axis of said pivot. Consequently, the bar20 is locked against movement about its pivot 23 unless and until thepin 33 is rst moved toward the right, as viewed in Fig. 6 past its dead`center position. kWhen this has been done, it becomes possible'to raisethe bar2lat which time the pin 33 is free to continue the movementtoward the right. Raising thebar removes the pin I8 from the extension26 of the slot 24 as has been explained, thus releasingthe locking meansto permit collapse of the couch section. Similarly, after the ,couch hasbeen collapsed and the pin I8 has entered the extension 25 of the slot24, the pin 33 has moved automatically to the left end of the slot 36on-the dropping of-the bar 2) so that operation of-saidbar to releasethe-locking means becomes impossible until theV member 33 has nrst beenmoved to ar- 34 past the dead releasable locking means for maintaining acouch` section both in its collapsed position and in its operativeraised position. Y Y

While I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of myinvention, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto,but intend to claim the invention as broadly as may loe-permitted by thestate of the prior art andthe scopeofthe appended claims.

l. In -a collapsibleA self-raising couch section movable into eXtremecollapsed and `raised positions, a mattress-carrying frame, end rails onthe frame each having a slot adjacent the front end thereof; a pair ofcrossed legs pivoted together, the upper end of one of the legs beingpivoted to the rear end of the frame,a pin on the upper Yend of theother legentering the slot of the endV rail, and releasable means forlock.

to the adjacent end rail whereby the front portion of said arm tends toldrop about said pivot, said pin entering the slot of the adjacent sidearm and entering and being locked in an end extension of said slot whenthe bar drops and the section is in an extreme position, and additionalmanually releasable means for locking said bar against upwardpin-releasing movement of the front portion thereof about its pivot inthe eX- treme positions of said section.

2. In a self-raising collapsible couch section, a frame having end railseach provided with a slot, a pair of crossed legs pivoted to each other,a pin on the upper end of one of the legs of each of said pair ofcrossed legs, said pin entering the slot, a side arm of less length thanthat of the end rail arranged adjacent the front portion of the end railand loosely pivoted at its rear end to the end rail, said arm having aslot therein adjacent the front end thereof, said arm slot having anupright extension on at least one end thereof, said pin entering saidarm slot, a front bar joining the front ends of the arms and having aslot therein, a locking detent pivoted at its upper end to the frontrail at a point offset to one side of the longitudinal middle line ofthe detent and a pin on the detent below the pivot of the detent andalso offset from the middle line of the detent, said detent pin enteringand being normally arranged at one end of the slot of the front bar,said detent being suspended from its pivot to hang in a directioninclined to the vertical whereby said detent pin is normally arrangedpast a dead center position of the detent and lifting of the bar isprevented until the pin of the detent is moved past and on the otherside of said dead center position.

3. In a collapsible couch section movable into extreme collapsed andraised positions, said section being provided with a slot, means formovably supporting the section, a pin projecting from the supportingmeans into the slot and movable in the slot, means for locking the pinat either end of the slot, said locking means comprising a side armloosely pivoted to the section and having a slot therein substantiallycoeXtensive with the slot of the section, said pin entering into saidarm slot, the slot of the arm having an upright extension on at leastone end thereof,the pin moving into the extension in a selected one ofsaid extreme positions of said section on the movement of the side armabout its pivot under its own weight, a front bar connected to said armand arranged along the front of said section, said front bar having aslot therein, a manually releasable locking detent loosely pivoted atits upper end to the section and suspended therefrom at a point oifsetto one side of the middle line of the detent, and a pin on the detentbelow the pivot of the detent and also offset to one side of the middleline of the detent, said detent pin being movable in and being arrangednormally at one end of the slot of the front bar whereby lifting of thefront bar is prevented until the detent is first swung about its pivotsufliciently to move the detent pin out of said one end of the slot ofthe front bar toward the other end of said last-mentioned slot, and to apoint offset to the other side of said middle line.

4. In a bodily movable and collapsible couch section adapted to beraised into an operative position, an upper mattress-carrying framehaving end rails, each of said rails having a slot therein, a pair oflegs for each rail, said legs being pivoted together intermediate theirends, a

pin on the upper end of one leg entering the slot of its end rail, aspring urging the lower ends of said legs together and releasable meansto lock said pin against movement out of the ends of the slot in therespective raised and collapsed positions of said section, said meanscomprising a U-shaped. locking bar having a front part substantiallycoextensive with the front of said frame, and a side arm extending fromthe front part along each of the end rails and being pivoted thereto,said side arm having a slot therein of substantially the same length asthe slot of the end rail and receiving said pin, the slot of the sidearm having an upright extension at each end thereof, said pin beingreceived and locked in an extension in the raised and collapsedpositions of said section and on the movement of the U- shaped bar aboutits pivot under its own weight.

5. In couch construction, the combination with a stationary section of asecond section adapted to be collapsed and moved to a space beneath thefirst section, said second. section having a frame, the end rails ofsaid frame each having a slot adjacent an end thereof, a pair of crossedlegs for each end of the frame, said legs being pivoted together attheir junctions, the upper end of one of the legs of each pair of legsbeing pivoted to an end of a corresponding side rail of the frame, a pinon the upper end of the other leg of each pair entering the slot of itscorresponding side rail for pivotal and sliding movement therein, andreleasable latch means for locking the piris against movement in theslots, said latch means hav-ing fiat portions pivoted at their innerends to the outside of an end rail at each end of said frame, said flatportions each having a slot substantially coextensive with the slot ofthe adjacent end rail, the slots of said flat portions each terminatingin a notch at one end thereof, said pins each engaging the slot of theadjacent flat portion and occupying said notches when the couch is inone position, said latch means also having an intermediate portion lyingoutside of, parallel to, and closely adjacent to the longitudinal framemember which joins the side rails and rigidly connecting said atportions for operation 1n unison.

6. In a couch construction, a bodily movable and collapsible sectionadapted to be raised into an operative position, said section having aframe, the end rails of said frame each having a slot adjacent an endthereof, a pair of crossed legs for each end of the frame, said legsbeing pivoted together at their junctions, the upper end of one of thelegs of each pair of legs being pivoted to a corresponding end rail, apin on the upper end of the other leg of each pair entering the slot ofits corresponding end rail for pivotal and sliding movement therein, andreleasable latch means for locking the pins against movement in theslots, said latch means having fiat portions pivoted at their inner endsto an end rail at each end of said frame, said flat portions each havinga slot substantially coextensive with the slot of the adjacent end rail,the slots of said flat portions each terminating in a notch at one endthereof, said pins each engaging the slot in the adjacent nat portionand occupying said notches when the couch is in one position, said latchmeans also having an intermediate portion lying outside of and closelyadjacent to the longitudinal frame member which joins the end rails andrigidly connecting said flat portions for operation 1n unison.

ABRAHAM KRAKAUER.

